100 Deeds
by DarkGodAkito
Summary: After meeting a mysterious old man, Naoto finds herself with a very large and unexplainable problem… Rated T for language. Kanji x Naoto
1. Playing God

**100 Deeds**

Persona 4, inspired by 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd

Naoto x Kanji

**_Chapter 1: Playing God_**

Late. It was very late, and Naoto was only just stepping into her apartment. 11:30pm to be precise. The detective sighed, knowing she'd only get a few hours rest between now and school in the morning.

Nights like these were common when she was working on a case, and often left her feeling tired and moody towards her friends during the day. The blue-haired girl sighed lightly, going towards the kitchen. She silently wished she could have more time to sleep and more time with her friends and loved ones. If only her job didn't wire her up so much and keep her busy for so long.

'_Maybe I can help with that…._' A deep, yet almost sadistic voice spoke from within the shadows.

Naoto froze, her hands instinctively moving to take out her revolver, keeping it down but keeping her hand on the trigger as she turned to see what looked like a cloaked old man sitting on her sofa. He held a cup of what appeared to be tea.

"Who are you?" Naoto demanded, her gun pointed in the mans general direction. He looked to be around 60, gray hair, beard, moustache… the young detective quickly memorized every detail about this man for later questioning.

The man smirked, looking at her with a bemused expression, '_Is __**THAT**__ how you treat all guests? Huh?! No wonder you don't have any friends, Miss Naoto Shirogane._' The man's voice suddenly boomed inside the detectives skull, so loudly that she visibly flinched and took a step back.

"How… how do you know my name?" Naoto demanded through clenched teeth. She quickly realized that he hadn't _said_ anything, that she was hearing a voice inside her own head, like she had with her Shadow.

Within her subconscious, Sukuna-Hikona buzzed in sheer terror.

If the great battle against Izanami no Okami from last summer had taught her anything about this world, it was that gods do exist. Was he some sort of higher up too?! No, illogical she mentally scolded herself for even thinking such a thing.

'_I know __**EVERYTHING**__ about you, kid_.' He voice boomed in her skull again, making her stagger from the volume. By now the man- or whatever he was- was standing before her.

On reflex, and almost in slow motion, Naoto stepped back, raised her gun, and took a shot at the man, aiming off to his side in warning. However, faster than the human eye could follow, he had raised his hand, holding the bullet between his fingers. Naoto felt the blood drain from her face in horror.

This HAD to be a dream. She was tired, stressed, and overworked. That was the logical explanation. There was no way that this man was in her apartment making her head throb with a mere few words, and absolutely no way that any man could have ever grabbed a bullet unscathed, making her return to her god theory, as illogical as it was.

'_NEGLECTFUL! SELF-ABSORBED! ALWAYS IGNORING EVERYONE AND MAKING UP EXCUSES, AND YET HAVING THE NERVE TO THINK OF YOURSELF AS LONELY? WORKING WORKING WORKING, PUTTING EVRYONE ELSE BELOW YOU! THE LIFE OF NAOTO SHIROGANE IS ABOUT TO _**_CHANGE_**_!_' the voice was impossibly louder still.

Somewhere outside a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, the massive crack of thunder closely following as the wind picked up and the power cut, plunging them into darkness.

'_I'm going to teach you a lesson you wont soon forget…._'the voice was much softer now, but once again carried that sadistic tone. '_SHE WHO BRINGS ONLY PAIN AND STRIFE SHALL NOW BE CURSED TO LIVE A DOGS LIFE! ON THE FLOOR WITH FUR AND FLEAS UNTIL SHE DOES __**100 GOOD DEEDS**__!_'

A flaming hot pain unlike any other ripped through Naotos skull as she unwillingly released a high pitched scream. After that, what remaining light in the room vanished as the detective fell to the floor, unconscious.

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OMG I'M NOT DEAD. ITS A MIRACLE.

Cough.. anyway... Nao-chan's going to get a very rude awakening in the morning. How will the others react?

Reviews are love peeps =D


	2. Discovery

**_Chapter 2: Discovery_**

"Ohhh my head…."Naoto groaned, her skull throbbing and pulsing every 10 seconds, shooting pain through her. What _happened_ last night…? What she was experiencing at this moment could very well be akin to hangovers, as she had read about them before.

"I-Illogical… I don't drink…."she muttered through clenched teeth, her eyes firmly shut away from the light in the room. She tried to sit up, and immediately felt violently ill. Laying back down quickly seemed to ease her stomach a bit, so she just lay there for awhile while trying to figure out where she was and what had happened.

She recalled being at work, ignoring a text message from Rise, going home late that night, and then….what..? She knew something else had happened after that… what was it? All she could recall was darkness…

Gingerly, so as to not upset her stomach or head again, the young detective opened one crystal blue eye. A plain white sofa slowly swam into view through blurred vision. Her apartment. She was in her apartment, on the floor? Why was she on the floor? She once again tried to recall the memory from last night through the dizzying fog in her mind. Was there someone here..? Did they do something to her to leave her in such a state? Nothing made _sense _anymore.

Naoto very slowly tried to stand, and at once realized something was terribly wrong. She only reached up to the edge of a sofa cushion at her full height, and even beyond that, she was standing on all fours. She looked down, her eyes wider than plates as she saw not her slim hands, but a pair of white paws with long off-white nails stuck out.

Naoto nearly screamed and shot backwards, bumping into the wall with a hard crack. In an out-of-character rush, she panicked. Had she been in her right mind, she would have scolded herself for feeling such a thing. Naoto Shirogane was known for being cool, calm, and in control of every situation, no matter what. She never panicked. Not in the TV world, and certainly never in the real world when dealing with vicious human beings from all shades of life, from thieves to murderers and everything in between.

But this… this was something else altogether. She ran for the bathroom and leaped up onto the counter next to the sink, almost not daring to look in the mirror. Her nails made an irritating clicking sound against the smooth marble countertop.

She took a few gasping breaths to calm her racing heart, and forced herself to step into the mirror, feeling almost faint with terror. Instead of seeing her own face, her short blue hair, or trademark blue hat, she saw a patchy white and ginger face that was spackled with bits of black over her eyes and neck. Medium-length fur, large pointy ears, a long thin muzzle.. some type of Shepherd mix she guessed somewhere in the back of her mind.

"This is NOT happening…"she whispered, her eyes wide in disbelief and unrelenting terror. Jumping down onto the floor, nearly falling over into the side of the bathtub, Naoto returned to the living room. Her headache and stomach had been all but forgotten in her mad rush to the bathroom.

Her memories suddenly came flooding back. There was a man… he said strange things, she'd tried to shoot him.. and then….

"Cursed to live a dogs life…. Until I do 100 good deeds…?"she murmured, trying to calm down. Analyze. Rationalize. There was a very good chance she'd simply been kidnapped and drugged, though even a drugged up dream wouldn't make the pain in her skull feel so real. So now…what? What did he mean by 100 good deeds anyway?!

Naoto closed her eyes, silently tapping into her mental dictionary.

**good/go͝od/**

**Adjective: **

**To be desired or approved of.**

**Noun: **

**That which is morally right; righteousness.**

**Synonyms: **

**adjective. nice - kind - fine**

**noun. benefit - profit - advantage - avail - welfare - use**

**adverb. well - nicely - fine - right – okay**

**deed/dēd/**

**Noun: **

**An action that is performed intentionally or consciously.**

**Verb: **

**Convey or transfer (property or rights) by legal deed**

**Synonyms: **

**act - action - work - doing - feat - document - fact**

"Bastard…"Naoto hissed, "I do good deeds all the time! My whole job is dedicated to doing good for the better of society!"

It was then that the detective was calm enough to realize something. She couldn't hear Sukuna-Hikona buzzing around in her mind. Forgetting her current problem for a moment, she tried to find a trace of his presence. After several minutes, she sighed in relief, finding her connection with the little guy again. If nothing else, she still had her persona, and so was not completely alone.

'WhatHappenedWhatHappened?' Sukuna-Hikona buzzed in her mind, talking quickly as always.

"I'm not sure.." Naoto sighed, reflecting again on her current situation. Even though her persona was her own soul reflected, it was comforting being able to talk to him to try to figure things out. He often pointed out details she'd overlooked.

"Were you changed in any way?" she asked the little bug.

"Don't think so." Sukuna-Hikona responded, seemingly calmer now and talking slower now. 'Call friends?' he inquired.

Naoto hesitated, looking down. Would they even believe her? I mean, who would take a talking dog seriously? Though she guessed it was worth a try. She looked down at her paws, "Can I even handle a phone like this…?"

She stood up and went to the kitchen where she'd put down her cell phone on the counter. "This is so undignified…" she sighed, managing to scramble up onto the counter to gently grab the phone in her teeth, returning to the living room with it soon after.

After several clumsy failed attempts, getting more and more frustrated, she managed to get the flip-phone open.

Mental note: Its sucks not having thumbs.

Carefully, and with much frustration, she managed to get into the text section, then paused. What would she tell them? If she said she turned into a canine they'd think she'd lost her mind. At the same time though, she almost didn't want their help. They'd notice on their own that she was gone… right?

'Wrong.' Sukuna-Hikona said with a sigh, telling her what she already knew.

Naoto sighed and typed a single short message as best she could with blunt claws. It was difficult, and took far longer than it should have.

_SOS_

It was short, but would get the point across that she needed help, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Now all there was to do was wait for someone to show up here.


	3. Meeting with Friends

Thanks so much for all the reviews, they're really encouraging! Yesterday in-between working on this chapter, I made a bit of concept art for what I imagine Naoto's dog form to look like. You can see it on my dA, username "Strayhowl" , if you want! =D

anyway, onto the chapter~

**_Chapter 3: Meeting with Friends_**

The morning in Yasugami Highschool dragged on as normal. Kanji had noticed that Naoto was absent, but he didn't give it much thought. He figured she was just busy with her work.

The others earlier had made mention of it as well, but were unconcerned. Kanji sighed, not really wanting to be in school. While he was great at sewing and making dolls, he wasn't so great at understanding anything to do with math. He briefly wondered if he could get Naoto to tutor him yet again. She was practically the only reason he passed any of his exams, even though it was slightly challenging focusing on work with her around.

By now it was hardly a secret that the blonde had an intense crush on the androgynous detective. However, Naoto still acted oblivious to this. Either she really was that unobservant to his feelings, or she knew and simply didn't care.

"Mr Tatsumi!" the teachers sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He scrambled to his feet, "Erm, yeah?" he said, looking at the annoyed teacher.

"Did you even here the question, Mr. Tatsumi?" the teacher asked.

Kanji clenched his jaw, trying to keep his temper in check.

"No sir." he almost growled out. Man, why did these damn teachers always gotta pick on him anyway? With that he sat back down, looking at his desk with a tight glare.

The class progressed normally from there. The sunlight was bright today as the day went on. Just before the end of class, his phone vibrated. The blonde flipped it open and blinked.

"Text from Naoto?" he murmured. Clicking on it, his eyes widened.

_SOS_

_-Naoto_

"SOS!?" he muttered to himself. The bell rang just then as classes ended. Kanji gathered his things, wasting no time as he went to meet up with the others. Everyone seemed eager to meet.

Yu wasted no time, "Did you guys receive a strange text a few minutes ago from Naoto?" he asked.

Everyone nodded. "SOS huh, I'm guessing that means she's in some kinda trouble then, but where do we start looking?" Yosuke asked.

"Chie, Yukiko head to her apartment. Me, Kanji, and Yosuke will head into town to ask if anyone's seen her. We'll pick up Teddie on the way to check the TV. Rise, you'll be with him to scan the tv world." Yu said, issuing the orders calm as ever.

Everyone nodded and started heading off to their assigned locations, all hoping their pint-sized friend was alright.

. . .

Back at Naotos apartment, she had taken to laying on the sofa and staring at the floor while she waited for someone to show up. Her ears perked up as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Finally." She muttered, getting up and going over to the door just as it burst open, revealing a small golden-haired boy who practically danced into the room.

"NAOOO-CHAAAAAN~!" he practically yelled, making Naoto's ears go back, "Teddie, quit your yelling! I'm right here!" she said.

Teddie blinked, looking down at her with a confused expression, "A dog?" said, raising an eyebrow, "I don't remember Nao-chan getting a dog?" He knelt down before her, "Where's your beautiful master at, hm?" he said, looking at her with his usual wide smile.

Naoto blinked, "Teddie, its me. I'm right here!" she said.

Teddie gave a big sigh, looking like a sad child, "If only I could understand dog-speak…" he said, standing back up.

In her mind Sukuna-Hikona buzzed, 'Cant understand us. Talk loud?' he suggested.

Naoto sighed and watched as Teddie turned to go into her living room before practically shouting "_TEDDIE!_"

The humanoid Shadow visibly jumped and stumbled forward as soon as she did. He looked at her with wide eyes, and for a moment, Naoto thought she'd made proper contact finally.

Then however he said, "How bear-y rude! How can Nao-chan possibly work with this dog barking so loudly?"

It was then that she made the heart-plummeting realization. What sounded like words to her would come across only as barks to her friends.

Teddie then continued walking around until he spotted something on the floor. He picked it up carefully, "Nao-chan's cell phone! She must have been here when she made that SOS text. But where did she go after that?" he wondered before looking sad again, "I'm bear-y bad at detective work, I bet if Nao-chan was here looking for someone she'd have found all sorts of clues and theories by now…" he said, sitting on her sofa, looking at her phone.

Naoto sighed, sitting on the floor. While it did warm her that the humanoid Shadow seemed to be worried for her, it was also clear that she could not rely on the help of her friends for this. She was utterly alone in regaining her human body.

With that thought, she got up and started walking towards the door. This movement seemed to catch Teddie's attention, making him smile, "I wonder if you're hungry? Since your master's not here I'll be bear-y sure to look after you until she gets back. That'll show Nao-chan how responsible I am!"

Naoto visibly flinched at the thought of being under the care of Teddie, knowing she'd need to get outside and away as soon as possibly. Still though…. That was something she hadn't taken into account. She would need somewhere to stay and some way of feeding herself while trying to win back her humanity in this warped game she'd been thrown into.

She looked at Teddie, knowing there was no way in hell he'd be the one to do that though.

While she did love the Shadow as a friend and comrade, he was far too hyper and irritating to live with, even temporarily. She briefly wondered if she could stand living with any of her friends like this.

Yukiko probably wouldn't be too bad, provided she didn't try to feed her an home-cooked meals…Yu…. maybe if he was going to be around longer than a few months, but then she'd likely have Nanako crawling all over her. Yosuke and Teddie were no-go's right off the bat, they were far too uncivilized. Kanji….she could probably deal with, despite her hidden feelings for the boy. Rise and Chie she likely couldn't stand living with, both being far too bouncy and hyper.

Reflecting on this analysis, her preferred options were Yukiko-san and Kanji-kun.

She suddenly snapped back into reality, realizing Teddie was nowhere around. She quickly got to her feet, looking around for the hyper boy. _If he's in my bedroom he's getting bitten…_ she thought firmly, unknowingly making a small growl escape her lips.

Surprisingly though, her bedroom was vacant. She then looked in the next logical place, the kitchen. Sure enough, this was where the blonde had wandered into. He was looking around, looking lost.

"How bear-y odd. Nao-chan doesn't seem to have any doggy food or even any doggy bowls. How does she feed you?" he asked, glancing down at her, noticing her presence by the loud clicking of her nails on the floor.

"Simple, I don't have a dog, nor do I want one." she muttered to herself. Of course she wouldn't have the proper items to look after a dog, she had no time for pets with her hectic work hours. Maybe this would clue in the Shadow that she didn't own a dog at all.

However, she shouldn't have expected such a lightbulb from the happy-go-lucky boy as he simply grabbed a plate and went into the kitchen to grab some ham and turkey from her fridge, piling it onto the plate.

"There ya go~!" he said, flashing his trademark smile as he put the plate on the floor. He knelt before her, "Hm… I don't even know your name…" he mused.

The detective clenched her jaw tightly. This was beyond undignified, this was downright humiliating. Still… the low growl in her stomach made her unwillingly take the food in the only way she could.

After this was overwith, she'd find a way to make sure Teddie never spoke of this to anyone ever again.

It was then that Naoto heard the door open again, the sound of 2 recognizable giggling girls following.

Knowing it was hopeless, she still tried to call to them, "CHIE-SEMPAI! YUKIKO-SEMPAI!"

"Was that a dog barking?" she heard Chie ask.

"It sounded like it, but Naoto-kun doesn't have a dog I didn't think..?" Yukiko's voice answered her.

"Woah there doggy, its just some friends." Teddie said with a big smile.

Hypothesis confirmed.

The two girls came into sight, both looking surprised.

"Teddie? Why are you here? Chie asked, "Did you not get a call from Sempai?"

"Nope~! I came here by my bear-y self after getting that strange text message from Nao-chan, but the only one here is this adorable doggy. I found Nao-chan's cell phone on the floor but that was all. This little poochy seemed hungry though so instead of being sad I decided to feed it and look after it!" Teddie said proudly, standing.

Chie raised an eyebrow, "Teddie, do you even know _how_ to look after a dog?" she sighed.

Yukiko kneeled down to get a better look, "I think its some kind of Australian Shepherd mix. I didn't know Naoto-kun was into dogs, she always struck me as more of a cat person." the black haired girl said, reaching out to pet the dog in question.

Naoto's body became almost rigid at the contact. It was well known that she was not a fan of physical contact (which in retrospect is likely why Teddie and Rise always loved to hug or glomp her just to wind her up) so it took almost all her willpower to not back away from the group.

She knew that even though they couldn't understand her, nor help her get her body back, the could at least help by providing her somewhere to live temporarily as well as access to food and water. She felt selfish to require these things from them, but she knew in her current state there was no way she'd be able to adequately provide for herself.

Yukiko's voice broke her thoughts, "Well if Nao-chan's gotten herself into some sort of trouble, someone's going to need to look after her dog, right? See if you guys can find a leash anywhere, we can take it back to the food court with us. Oh, Teddie, on second thought you run ahead there, you're due to enter the tv with Rise-chan to see if Naoto's somehow in that world."

"But but I haven't even gotten to see Nao-chan's bedroom yet..!" Teddie said, back to his normal perverted self, earning him a swift smack from Chie. "Like we'd let you anyway!" she said sharply,"Now go!"

Teddie released an over-exaggerated sigh and walked towards the door.

Yukiko smiled, "What should we call it? Its tag just has Naoto-kun's name and phone number.

_…Tag?_

Naoto shook her head, somehow only just realizing she was wearing a light collar. She could barely feel it through the fur, but sure enough it was there. She mentally scolded herself again for being so hyper this morning, how shameful to not notice something so obvious. What kind of detective was she anyway? she thought bitterly.

"Oh yeah… hmm…" Chie bent down, looking at the canine. "What would Naoto-kun name a dog..?" she wondered.

Yukiko giggled a bit, "Sherlock?"

Mental note: Find a way to kill Yukiko without leaving evidence.

Chie laughed, "She'd probably kill you for saying that, but I can totally see it."

Without realizing it, Naoto's ears went back and she growled lowly at the two.

"Woah woah easy, no offence.." Chie said, taking a step back.

"Well at least it's as smart as its owner." Yukiko couldn't help but giggle a bit more.

"Well I don't see a leash anywhere around…" Chie frowned, "I wonder if it'd just follow us like the fox does?"

"Maybe." Yukiko said, still petting the dog (much to her displeasure.)

"Well lets get going then." Chie said, giving the apartment one last sweep before walking towards the door.

Yukiko followed her, keeping a firm hand around the dogs collar to make sure she didnt run away. The last thing they wanted was to have to explain to Naoto that they lost her dog.

Naoto sighed, willingly following her comrades as they left the apartment. She kept a mind to keep an eye out for anything that might count as a 'good deed' on the way to the food court.

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Reviews are still love peeps =D

ALSO if you have any ideas for good deeds, drop a comment and it very well might make it into the story! I have ideas for a few of them but 100 is a big number xD so feel more than welcome to offer up any ideas you might have~ =D

-Akito


	4. The Last One You Ignored

**_Chapter 4: The Last One You Ignored_**

Kanji sighed, about ready to punch a wall. It was still so damn hard getting information out of people, since everyone just assumed he wanted to take their money or some other nonsense.

He sighed, figuring he'd ask one last person before heading back. He spotted the kid he'd given the rabbit dolls to before.

"Hey kid, y'got a minute?" he asked.

The little boy looked up at him, smiling, "Hiya Mister." He said cheerfully.

Kanji rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh, "I said not to call me Mister…"he said, "Anyway, y'know that blue haired detective girl that lives 'round here. Ya seen her lately?" he asked.

The little kid tilted his head, "Nope, sorry Mister."

Kanji nodded, "S'ok." He said, turning to walk back to Junes now that the sun was starting to set.

Man, what the hell kinda trouble had Naoto gone and gotten herself into now?

"I swear if she's gone and done somethin stupid to make a point again I'll kick her ass senseless…." He muttered, thinking back to that time last September when she'd gone and gotten herself kidnapped on purpose to prove that the real killer was still at large. Even though it worked, it showed just how stupidly reckless the detective could be at times.

He turned and punched the wall hard. It had been a hard time for him last September, and despite Yosuke-sempai's continued teasing about his behavior, it was no secret that he'd fallen for the small detective even then.

Something about her, he couldn't explain it. There had been an almost instant attraction, even though that was back when they had been under the belief that she was a boy. It had made Kanji question his sexuality even more than he already had, and sometimes still did even now.

However even after finding out that she was a girl, Kanji's feelings for her hadn't changed, and only seemed to grow stronger as he got to know her better over time.

Even being forced to fight against her in heated battle 4 months ago hadn't weakened the bond that had been formed during 2011. Thinking now, it didn't feel like it had only been 1 year since he'd met her for the first time.

Everything that was endured during the murder investigation and during the battles to help Labrys made it feel like the whole team had known eachother far longer.

Grumbling to himself, Kanji made his way to their meeting place at the Junes food court.

He got there in time to see Yukiko approach with a large dog in toe.

"Eh? The hells a dog doin here?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

"We think it belongs to Naoto-kun, it was at her apartment." Yukiko explained, still holding onto the dogs collar. "We couldn't find a leash though so Chie-chan's gone to buy one."

"Dog huh? Didn't think she had any pets." he said, looking down at the animal, who looked utterly annoyed at everything. Its ears were flat back, and it seemed to be glaring at everything. _Kinda like Naoto herself_ he couldn't help but think.

Kanji reached out to pat the dog on the head, but immediately drew his hand back when the dog glared up at him and growled.

"Jeeze, what's with this thing?" Kanji muttered.

"It seems to be rather… easily annoyed." Yukiko said, keeping a hand on the dogs collar. "I mean, earlier it growled at me and Chie for joking about calling it Sherlock." She added.

"….Sherlock?" Kanji asked, looking clueless.

Yukiko shook her head, "Nevermind…"

"Heeey back finally." Chie's voice sounded from the doors of Junes. She walked back to the group, holding a plain dark blue dog leash. "Hopefully this one's ok, I didn't realize there were so many different types of leashes." she said with a frown.

Naoto sighed, letting the voices of her friends fade into white noise as she mentally reviewed every detail of how she'd come to be in this situation. She analyzed and memorized every detail about that strange man, and the thing he'd sad before placing this curse on her.

"My, you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" an unfamiliar voice said calmly.

Naoto blinked, looking around. Her friends were talking to eachother, so it couldn't have been them. She looked around before her eyes fell on the Fox, whom was staring at her intensely.

"Impossible, foxes don't talk." Naoto said to herself.

"You've been turned into a dog, and you're questioning a talking fox? My, how observant you are, Miss Detective Prince."

Naoto blinked slowly. It really was the fox talking.

"Catching on now, are we? Yes, we are both canines, and so can understand one another. I'm surprised you hadn't reached that conclusion already, given your famous reputation." The fox continued, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Her voice? It was difficult tell, but they'd always assumed the fox was male.

Naoto held back a growl, looking at the fox, though she knew he was right. Why wasn't she connecting the dots in a flash like she always had?

The fox chuckled, "My name is Ren. Pleased to make your acquaintance properly. It does take a few days for the mind to adjust to the change, you'll be back to normal soon enough." he told her.

"How do you know who I am?" Naoto asked him. Sure the fox had been on the team for over a year, but she'd never thought of him as being quite this sharp. She only ever saw him in the tv world and in the food court, though she recalled Yu-sempai saying something about the fox working to keep the shrine alive.

Ren yawned, "Scents don't change with appearance. Its quite easy to tell you are you, despite your new face." he said calmly, "So, what were you changed for then?" he inquired.

Naoto blinked. How could the fox know about all this? Even if he was unusually intelligent for an animal, he couldn't possibly know about that man. Unless…

Naoto looked at him, "You used to be human as well then?"

Ren gave a toothy grin at that, "See? Sharper already. Indeed, I am like you, though I never wanted to go back." He said. "My sin was greed, and still is. What was your sin?" he asked again.

Naoto paused, thinking back to what that man had said to her last night. "….Negligence he said."

This idea deeply troubled the young detective.

Before she could think much on it, Ren gave a sharp yip of a laugh, "I had figured something along those lines. No offence youngling, but you really did ask for that one." He said with another toothy grin.

Naoto glared at him. She most certainly did not ask to be transfigured into a mutt, especially when she had been so close to cracking the case she was currently working on. Now thanks to this god-man-whatever he was another criminal might walk, since the other detectives and officers were far too lazy and ignorant to put things together like she did.

Ren only watched her with amused eyes, "Still only thinking about your work I assume. How fun. This will not be an easy trip for you." he said.

Naoto blinked. She thought back to when she'd unknowingly jumped into the P1 Grand Prix. The first person she had been forced to fight was Yu-senpai. Though it was all an illusion, he mentioned how obsessive she was over her work, and how she didnt care for the team. Those words had stung like a knife to her heart. Could she really have become like that now...?

Yu-senpai had assured her soon after their fight that the group did not think of her as unsocial, or uncaring. Those words had reassured her then, but what has changed since? Though she would never admit it out loud, the thought of losing her friends now made her heart ache. She didnt want to go back to being alone as she had been before that fateful encounter, before knowing the love and support the Investigation Team offered her.

Ren continued on, stopping her flow of thoughts, "So, who was the last person you ignored, hm?"

Naoto watched him calmly, "What do you mean?"

Ren smirked, "Just that you should figure out who it was. See, there are some rules to this game. Let us just say that not everyone will hear only barks…."

Naoto stared at him. The last person she ignored? Who was… wait…

Memories came back from last night, before she'd gone home. She recalled being at the police station, at her desk. She was reviewing files… said goodnight to Dojima-sama…. Then went home? No… something else happened before she'd gone home… she'd received… and **ignored** a text message. A text message from…

"Rise-chan!" she gasped. She'd gone straight home and hadn't seen or spoken to anyone else. It had to be Rise.

Ren still looked amused, "This will be quite fun to watch. I wish you luck in your 100 deeds youngling." he said. He then looked over, "Speaking of…"

Rise's voice could be heard from the other side of the food court, along with Teddie's. Yu and Yosuke had also appeared while Naoto had been speaking with Ren.

"Well shes not in the TV world as far as we can tell." Rise said, sitting down. The girl looked worried. Teddie sat beside her, also looking worried.

Yosuke sighed, rubbing his hair, "Man, this sucks. We have almost nothing to go off of, and it seems like no one around town has seen her since yesterday."

"Tsh, more than I could gather. All these assholes in town kept runnin away from me." Kanji said with an irritated sigh.

"They're still scared of you Kanji-kun?" Yukiko asked, to which Kanji muttered and looked away.

Rise gave a halfhearted smile, "How could anyone be scared of you Kanji-kun, your like a puppy!" she said with a giggle, looking more like herself.

"S-Shaddup…"Kanji said with a blush, "I aint no puppy!"

Yukiko suddenly went into one of her nonstop giggle fits, to which everyone sweatdropped.

"Jeeze Yukiko…" Chie sighed.

"Oooooh speaking of puppies, is that the dog Teddie was talking about? Its so cute!" Rise said with a bright smile, looking at the dog whom was currently tethered to the fence with a new dark blue leash.

Rise made her way around the table to pet the dog.

"Careful Rise, it seems to be pretty temperamental…" Chie warned.

Rise smiled as she pet the dog, who seemed to not be enjoying the attention one bit.

Naoto forced herself to stay silent. If what Ren said was true then it would be wisest to wait until she could be alone with Rise to see if the excitable pop-princess could really understand her. If that was the case, she didn't want to scare her or make the others think she'd lost it.

"So what're we gonna do with the dog anyway?" Kanj asked, looking at them.

"Maybe take it back to Naoto's place for now and make sure it's got food and water. We can figure out if our guardians would let any of us take it in temporarily later." Yu said, always being the reasonable one.

The others nodded in agreement.

Teddie gave a wide smile, "Sensible as always Sensei~" he said.

"Dude, can you butter him up any _more_?" Yosuke sighed, shaking his head.

"What about Naoto-kun then? I mean if shes in trouble we cant just leave her…" Chie said with a frown.

Yu nodded, "I'll ask Dojima-san tonight. If we cant find any leads, we might need to get the police involved."

"Like those assholes will do anything about it." Kanji muttered crossly, "I don't wanna leave it up to them if she needs help, we already know they're useless at what they do."

"Ooo Kanji, want to go save your crush all by yourself~? How noble~" Rise teased him, grinning.

Kanji blushed bright red, "S-shuddap! You don't know what yer talking 'bout Rise!"

The others at the table simply smiled.

Yu leaned over, putting his hand on Kanji's shoulder, "We'll do everything we can to help her, just like last time." he promised.

There was always an air of comfort around the groups leader. Somehow whenever Yu reassured the team, it felt like everything was going to be ok no matter how bleak the situation.

Yosuke clapped his hands together, "The Investigation Team is back in business." He said with a smile, "To help our lovely detective with whatever she's gotten into."

The rest of the team smiled and nodded with determination.

Naoto watched them silently. It really did warm her heart that they were so determined to help her, even with so little to go on. However, she also knew that it was a wasted effort. Especially if she couldn't make contact with Rise.

'See? See? Friends care.' Sukuna-Hikona buzzed in her mind. Naoto smiled, 'So it would seem.' She thought back to him.

She suddenly had a thought. She still had her persona. Did that mean she could freely travel inside the tv still? She'd have to test that theory as soon as possible. Maybe she really could show them who she was if Sukuna-Hikona was still the same persona.

Naoto's attention came back to her friends as they stood up, preparing to leave.

"I can take the dog back to Naoto's place." Rise offered, unwrapping the leash from the fence post.

_Perfect_ Naoto thought to herself, standing and stretching. She was slowly getting used to this new body.

The Investigation Team agreed to meet again tomorrow to discuss more of what they were going to do. Afterwards, they went in separate directions, each to their own homes.

Rise started walking back towards the outskirts of town with the dog, humming to herself cheerfully as she did so.

Naoto waited until she was sure there was no one around before speaking.

"Rise-chan?"

Rise stopped, looking around, "Huh?" she blinked. She was sure someone had said her name but there was no one around.

"Rise-chan, can you understand me?" Naoto said, looking up at her.

Rise seemed even more confused, "Uh… yeah? W-who is this…?" she said cautiously, probably thinking she was being stalked again.

"Rise-chan, please don't be alarmed… It's Naoto." The dog said, trying not to scare her too badly.

"Wait, _Naoto-kun_!? Where are you?" Rise asked, looking all around her.

"Please try not to be alarmed… I'm right next to you, look down." Naoto said, looking up at the former diva.

Rise looked around, her eyes finally settling on the dog she was walking, her brown-gray eyes as wide as moons.

Naoto gave a slight nod as if to confirm that it was her.

Rise blinked slowly, "….W-what…Naoto-kun?!" she said a little too loudly.

Naoto's ears went back from the pitch of Rise's voice.

"Yes, Rise-chan. As unbelievable as it is, it's really me." she said with a sigh.

Rise bent down so she was at eye-level with the dog, "But… how..?" she asked, surprisingly keeping her composure. Naoto figured not much would surprise the girl anymore after their adventures in the tv.

From what the others had said, Rise had been surprisingly level-headed when she went in the first time against her shadow, and then against Teddie's shadow.

Naoto looked at her, explaining as best she could about that man, and about how no one else could understand her minus other canines. Or maybe just other animals?

Rise blinked, "But wait, why can I hear you when no one else can?" she asked.

Naoto felt her pelt flush hot with embarrassment and a bit of guilt as well.

"Erm… w-well…." Naoto stared at the ground. _Because I ignored you? Because I've apparently grown neglectful without knowing? _

Naoto sighed, knowing she had no choice but to answer. She kept looking at the ground as she spoke. "W-well… as I understand the rules of this… curse… the man said that my sin was being neglectful…. And so the only one who could understand me would be… the last person whom was ignored…" she said quietly, keeping her attention on a very interesting pebble by her paw.

Rise said nothing, though Naoto was convinced that the pop princess would be at least a bit offended at the circumstances.

Suddenly Naoto felt a hand on her jaw as Rise forced her to look at her. As expected, her eyes reflected annoyance, though her words took the dog by surprise.

"Guess your lucky we're still friends then, huh?" Rise smiled.

Naoto blinked, "R-Rise-chan…"

Rise smiled warmly, "Don't worry, I'll still help you get your body back Naoto-kun, but you gotta promise me something."

"What would that be..?" Naoto asked, unsure of the girls intentions. Though Rise was a dear friend, the girl knew how to be scary when need be.

Rise patted Naoto on the head, still smiling, "Try to learn something from this, alright? You really don't realize it, but you work so much that most of the time you don't seem to even care about the rest of us. I think that's what got you into this mess in the first place."

That one hit home. Something had to have changed without her knowing, but **what** had changed? The detective felt utterly disgusted with herself for allowing work to take charge in her daily life. How could they ever think she didnt care about them? She _**loved**_ her friends. Her comrades. Her family. They were the only things keeping her in this town, and the only source of true happiness in her life. Sure she'd been very busy the past few months, but why... why would they ever think she didnt care about them?

Naoto swallowed thickly, but nodded, "A-Alright, Rise-chan... I promise." she said, though she didnt look the other girl in the eye.

Rise smiled, "Great! Lets get you home then, and tomorrow I'll help you figure out some good deeds to do."

Naoto nodded numbly, and was silent the rest of the way back. Now she HAD to win back her humanity, if only to apologize and beg forgiveness from the rest of the team, and make sure nothing like this ever happened again.

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Hopefully I got everyone's personality decently enough, I struggled a bit with Rise at the end. Next chapter we'll finally get onto the good deeds =D hopefully I'm not dragging it out too long. Reviews make me write faster =D and as always, suggestions for deeds will likely end up in the story at some point if I can make them work ^^

EDIT 11/4/12: some parts of this chapter were changed post-publishing, because afterwards I started playing through Naoto's story in P4: Arena, and realized I was SO off-kilter with her in this chapter. Hopefully now she's a little more true to her in-game personality!

-Akito


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